[BEW]

My local 02 shop in England opens in just over 90 mins... I'll be there :)

[alderete]

farroutpro said:

I just spent over an hour on the phone with AT&T's customer retention dept. and while I was discussing my account and iphone status with the supervisor I said if there was any other carrier I could take my iphone to I would in a heartbeat she said that in February 2010 I would be able to. (...) She said that Verizon signed a contract with Apple for the (CDMA) iphone and they are working right now to prep their system to support the phone.

While I would love for this to be true, it strikes me as somewhat unlikely that a customer retention specialist would (a) have access to this knowledge, or (b) would not be fired for passing it along.

Not impossible, AT&T could have those kinds of rumors flying around internally, especially if the retention folks have been told to get people to re-sign contracts before 2010, or something like that. I will be interested to see if this gets any play in the business or tech press!

[NorCalMacFan]

I have a first Gen 2G. Definitely upgrading and giving my old phone to my son for college. The increased speed will be a boon to my connection times for email and browsing.

[thom22]

Another vote for iPod touch plus dirt-cheap dumbphone (plus avoiding the wrath of my entire Verizon-using family).

[AnubisIV]

I'm a user of a launch-day iPhone 3G 16GB here. I'm still planning to be a user of a launch-day iPhone 3G 16GB for the next year.
The current model works more than well enough for me, so while I wouldn't mind upgrading, paying $199-$299 with the discount just isn't compelling for me. It was definitely compelling when I switched from a lousy Motorola clamshell on T-Mobile last year, but this year, not so much. Then again, I do the same thing with my Macs too. I'm on a High-res 1.67GHz AlPB right now.

[6555]

I'm gonna hold out until 3/'10 unless my wife decides to upgrade and she takes my 3G. I think too often that we get caught up in the hype and shell out money for every Apple product upgrade. So many of the features in the 3G S should have been there in at least the last iPhone upgrade. Apple keeps throwing us these bones, and we just throw the money back at them as if the upgrade features are so very essential. How many of us have purchased an Apple product only to see that product get upgraded six months later, and sometimes sold at a cheaper price?

[AnOldMan]

I would love to upgrade. But I purchased a 3G last August and won't be eligible for upgrade until January so will wait a year for the 4G or whatever is next. Too bad. I'd really like to upgrade now.

[grover432]

I've been with a competing carrier for many years and have been watching the development of smart phones for several years. Some people in our office use a Blackberry but I find both the keyboard and screen too small. In addition, the ability to sync several computers and a portable device combined with my satisfaction with Mac products in general means the iPhone is a logical choice for me.
Rogers is the iPhone carrier in Canada and I have a new black 32GB iPhone reserved. I pick it up Friday the 19th.

[greg57]

I will be upgrading today. I have a 1st. gen phone so the improvements will be worth it.

[BennyBoy]

I have been working on my wife to get her to use my current 3G 16G so yes, I planned to update and I just came home with a new white 3GS 32Gb.
I have had a 16 Gb 3G for 10 months with 2 months left on my subscription. Orange (France) gave me a good deal on a 3GS 32G by basically allowing me to start another 12 months contract with the phone at the same price as what a new customer would pay (after 100€ rebate due in 6 weeks). Monthly subscription is reasonable at 52€/ month with 2h + 2h night and weekend, unlimited 24/24 SMS, MMS, email, Internet & 60 TV channels. 200 Mb tethering is available for an additional 9,90€/ month which may be worth it when I get my MacBook Pro.
Increased competition is certainly a reason why Orange is willing to cut these deals. We have since April 3 iPhone carriers in France, I hope it comes to the States soon too.
By the way, don't be too hard on ATT's lack of coverage, keep in mind that the US is like a continent on its own, it is not that easy to cover every corner of it!

[cobracg]

And Here We … Go! The iPhone 3G S has just officially launched in the US.

[orser]

Should receive the 3GS today. I'm looking forward to using the phone in the car with hands free voice calling + GPS with TomTom's device when available. Plus, having a better camera and movie capability lets me leave a lot of other devices home when on vacation.
I'll have to wait and see what the functionality of my iPhone 2G is before I decide what to do with it. I've read varying capabilities.

[rnb2]

I have an iPhone "Classic", and have gone back and forth on whether to upgrade. While the new features and speed would be nice, I just don't see them coming into play very much for how I use my iPhone.

When I'm on the road, it's in my glove box, playing podcasts through my Alpine stereo; otherwise, I'm usually on a WiFi network somewhere. So, 3G really doesn't offer that much benefit.

While going from 8GB to 32GB would be nice, I would just fill it with movies that I never watch. While it would be cool to carry the entire extended "Lord of the Rings" in my pocket, it's not exactly practical to watch it.

The upgraded camera and video would be nice, but I carry a Canon 5D II with me just about everywhere - having a 3MP camera and VGA video doesn't really compare.

Mostly, though, it comes down to the belief that, as nice as the "speed bump" 3G S is, next year's iPhone will be a bigger upgrade (there are already rumors of a dual core ARM processor for next year), and I'd rather live with my current iPhone for another year than spend about $500 (phone + data plan increase) over the next year and not be eligible for an upgrade next summer.

Also, I've honestly always felt that the 3G feels cheap next to the original - I know why the case is plastic, but it doesn't have to feel as slippery and light as it does, and the original has just the right weight in the hand. If they'd actually released the matte black case that was rumored (and it had the correct FCC ID on it, so it may have been a possibility), that might have been just enough to convince me to upgrade. With the new one using exactly the same case as the 3G, and the features not being that compelling, I think I can wait and see what happens in the next 12 months.

[KarateKid]

There are not enough differences for me to upgrade from the 3G. One thing no one mentions is that you should get the 2 year extended warranty when buying. It comes in handy when an iPhone malfunctions, like mine did. Apple replaced it with a brand new one in 3 days. My warranty is good until June 2010 so I don't want to render that useless. I'm going to wait until the 2010 model comes out. Maybe by then iPhones will be available through another carrier. I don't like AT&T's price gouging.